


Torch Light

by callmecaramleh



Series: Zukka Week 2019 [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: (Just some unnamed evil guards), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Battle, Day 2: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Depression, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Minor Character Death, Nothing is too graphic because I’m not competent enough to write action, Sparring, Suicidal Thoughts, Violence, Zukka Week, theyre minor and reasonably vague but I thought I’d still mention them, this fic is more emo than intended but not as emo as it appears?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-10-14 09:39:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17506166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callmecaramleh/pseuds/callmecaramleh
Summary: While Sokka is learning from Master Piandao, an unexpected visitor appears.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be honest with you up front, I don't quite get from enemies to lovers. Frankly I hardly get from enemies to friends. However!! I feel like this fic still fits the spirit of this prompt. If I had all the time in the world I would make this fic very long and drawn out so that we could see the whole arc of their relationship with this tweak in the plot, but alas, I have 0 time and my typing fingers are cramping even as I write it. Also I have yet to proofread this so sorry about the impending typos. Still!! Please enjoy!

Sokka was becoming suspicious. He had spent a whole day with Master Piandao, getting to enjoy the act of learning, and nothing bad had happened. He knew from experience that the universe did not like him being happy. Joy was always replaced with burning villages, a new moon, being stranded in the desert, and other such misfortunes. The universe clearly didn’t like Sokka, and any happiness too great was sure to cause trouble.

And sure enough, trouble did come for Sokka that second morning. He was eating breakfast with Master Piandao—food that was delicious but incredibly spicy—trying to remember all that he had learned the day before, when the butler, Fat, entered.

“You have a visitor,” Fat said, “An old student.”

“Send them in,” Piandao said calmly.

Sokka was facing away from the door, so couldn’t see who entered, but Piandao’s reaction was clear enough. The Master rose quickly before bowing. It wasn’t a particularly low bow, but Sokka suspected it was lower than he was likely to give anyone else.

“Your majesty. It’s good to see you again,” Piandao said as he moved around the table to greet his guest properly. Sokka was simultaneously trying not to choke on some rice while looking for an exit.

“And you Master Piandao,” came Zuko’s voice. Sokka didn’t know whether to be more stressed or relieved. There was no way he could keep himself from being recognized by Prince Jerkbender, but unlike with Azula he at least thought he might be able to take him in a fight if he had to.

Just when he was about to try making a run for it, Piandao grabbed his ponytail and yanked him upward. Sokka yelped.

“I’m sorry that my guest has been so rude to you, Prince Zuko. He’s from the colonies,” Piandao said before turning to Sokka, “You must show members of the royal family respect and bow to them.”

It felt distasteful, maybe even traitorous to bow to the Fire Nation, but Sokka had no weapons and no friends to help him fight back, so he bowed low, trying to hide his face. He coughed before speaking, trying to disguise his voice in a low register.

“I’m sorry, your majesty, I’m intruding on your visit. I’ll just... scadaddle.”

“Not so fast,” Master Piandao said, grabbing the back of Sokka’s collar, jerking him into place, “Prince Zuko is an old student of mine. I’m sure he would be happy to help you train.”

There was no escape now. Zuko could clearly see his face, the same as it always had been. Sokka tried to brace himself, ready to dodge out of the way of a fire blast. He stared Zuko down, ready for the fight.

Zuko did not look the same as he had. His hair was neat, tucked back into a high top knot, decorated with a Fire Nation hair piece. His clothes, while still somewhat casual, were clearly expensive. Sokka had never seen Zuko looking so put together, and it would have scared him if not for the slightly surprised, yet not at all angry look on Zuko’s face. Sokka saw him close his eyes and take a deep breath, and got ready to duck.

“It’s good to meet you,” Zuko said, “I’d be happy to help.”

Sokka blinked. It was a sneak attack then. He’d have to be on high alert at all times. Honestly Sokka wished that Zuko would get it over with.

“But first, breakfast. Fat, make a plate for Prince Zuko.”

Zuko took the spot beside Sokka. It terrified him, and he tried to think of all the ways he could use his chopsticks as a weapon. Gauging out eyes seemed disgusting, but if he had to do it...

“I’m afraid your food has gotten cold while waiting for me. Please, let me heat it up for you,” Zuko said. They hadn’t been allowed to begin eating again until Zuko had gotten his food.

Piandao nodded and passed his plate over to Zuko. As Zuko took a breath, fresh steam began to rise from the food. Sokka had never seen firebending used in such a way before that. He knew it had definite practical advantages, but he never thought it could be so... domestic.

“And you?” Zuko asked.

“No thanks, I like it like this.” Sokka did not, in fact, like cold rice, cold meat, and cold eggs, but he wouldn’t give Zuko the satisfaction of... well he didn’t exactly know what Zuko’s strategy was at that point, nor how having him warm his food would play into it, but still. It was a matter of pride.

“What did you say your name was again?” Zuko asked.

“Sokka,” he replied, mouth full of rice. If he was going to have to fight he’d need to be well fed.

“Right,” Zuko said, glancing at Piandao, “I should have guessed. I’ve heard that’s a very popular name in the colonies.”

“So Prince Zuko,” Piandao said, “Did you have a particular reason for your visit?”

“Yes,” Zuko said, sitting a little straighter, “The swords that I made with you last time were destroyed a few months ago when there was an attempt on my life. I acquired other ones, but none of them even compare to the quality of swords that are made with your help.”

There was something off in his voice. Sokka was certain that he was lying, or at least that it wasn’t the whole truth. Zuko must have gotten word of Sokka being there and come to investigate. Sokka tried not to panic. Everything would be fine as long as Zuko didn’t find out about Aang. Sokka knew that in the grand scheme of the war and the universe that his own life wasn’t that valuable. He could get captured or die and it’d be of no great consequence to the war effort. Sure, Aang might be far less punctual, or their plans might be far less thought out, but they’d manage. They could defeat the Fire Lord without him.

“An attempt on your life? I’m so sorry. When did this happen?” Master Piandao asked.

“It was before the siege of the North,” Zuko answered, shifting in his seat, “The late Admiral Zhou ordered pirates to assassinate me.”

Sokka tried to focus on eating and not getting killed. The North, Zhou, and the strange glimpse into a difficult part of Zuko’s life had his emotions in a flurry. He tried to remember what stage the moon would be in that night to try to keep his thoughts from scattering.

“He was an awful man,” Piandao said, “I heard what he did to the moon spirit from your Uncle.” Zuko stiffened at the mention of his Uncle. Sokka supposed, from what had happened at Ba Sing Se, that Iroh was probably imprisoned if not killed. He was slightly surprised that Piandao would bring up a dishonored member of the royal family so casually. The thought at least distracted him from thinking of Yue too much.

“Yes. The Spirits were very kind, I think, in not holding us all accountable.”

They were too kind, in Sokka’s opinion. If Yue had been able to learn anything about being a warrior he was sure that she would find a way to come down from the sky and destroy the whole Fire Nation.

When breakfast was over Master Piandao went to look for practice dao swords for Zuko. As soon as he was out of the room, Sokka had grabbed his chopsticks, aiming them at Zuko’s face. Zuko looked unperturbed, but held Sokka’s stern gaze.

“I’m not going to fight you. If that was my intention I would have done it already.” Zuko’s voice was calm, unwavering, unlike his lies from earlier. Sokka still held his stance.

“I know not to trust you,” Sokka replied, “More now than ever.”

“Look, you have questions, I have questions, how about you get those chopsticks out of my face and we can talk?”

“How about I keep them in your face and _you_ can talk?”

Zuko sighed. “You already know the reason I’m here. What more could you want to know?”

“Why aren’t you fighting me?” Sokka demanded. He tried to channel the voice his father would use whenever he barked orders at the other warriors.

“Master Piandao is a Fire Nation citizen, but he is not altogether loyal to the Crown. He might as soon pick your side as mine.”

“And you don’t think you can take him?” Sokka asked, “You have fire power, remember?.”

“Master Piandao once won a battle where he single handedly fought off 100 warriors. I won’t take my chances.”

It must have been just folklore—there was no way that any nonbender would be that powerful—but it was plausible that there was some truth to it. The thought of Zuko getting beaten by his Master brought a small amount of glee to Sokka’s mind.

“You have some sort of plan to get the better of me,” Sokka insisted.

“Then I suggest you come up with your own. Honestly in this situation the power is very unevenly stacked,” Zuko pointed out, “I’m staying. I have business here whether you’re here or not. Feel free to stay or leave. It makes very little difference to me.”

Sokka did not move from his stance until he heard Master Piandao returning. Before Piandao could come in he made his decision. He would stay. If he couldn’t even fend off Zuko by himself then there was no point in him helping with the invasion. Learning swordbending was pivotal. He sat the chopsticks down, and Zuko almost smiled.

Piandao had them start with stretching, running, and push ups. Sokka was starting to feel a bit proud that he could hold his own against Zuko in these areas until they actually began sparring. It wasn’t fair that Zuko was so good with swords when he already had the ability to fire bend.

“That was better,” Zuko offered after Sokka’s eighth straight loss, “Try bending your knees more.”

“Like I’m going to trust your judgement,” Sokka grumbled.

“Sokka,” Piandao called from where he watched them practice, “Bend your knees. A strong stance is critical for a warrior. Think strong in your knees but light in your toes.”

He did his best not to roll eyes as he bent his knees. “Better?”

“Much. Start again.”

Zuko kicked his ass about ten more times before Piandao finally called for a break. Sokka was exhausted, sweating like crazy in the hot Fire Nation sun. He had never missed the stinging winds of the South Pole as much as he did in that moment.

“So,” Zuko said as Fat brought the three of them drinks, “You seem a little young to be traveling alone, Sokka. Do you have friends nearby?”

“I’m traveling with my sister,” Sokka replied. It was enough of the truth that he doubted it would add any suspicions to Zuko’s mind. It was obvious that Zuko was trying to feel out Sokka’s plans, but Sokka wouldn’t fall prey to that.

“Your parents parents aren’t accompanying you?” Master Piandao asked.

“No, my father is in the navy, and my mother died when I was very young.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Zuko said quietly, and he almost sounded sincere. Katara has told Sokka of Zuko’s deceit in the caverns of Ba Sing Se. He knew better than to fall for Zuko’s sad lines about lost mothers and honor.

“Thank you,” Sokka replied, hoping that would drop the conversation.

They went back to sparring once the drinks were finished. It was absolutely grueling. Eventually the stick of his sweat became too much and he shed his shirt. It was only after that that Sokka was finally able to best Zuko, pinning him against a rock, practice sword stopped just in front of Zuko’s chest. Sokka accredited it to his increased mobility without the shirt impeding him. He would never guess that it might have been the fact that Zuko was slightly distracted by his own firm muscles.

“Good job,” Zuko mumbled between breaths. He seemed just as exhausted as Sokka was, and Sokka couldn’t help the smug grin that formed in response. Sure, he had only beaten Zuko once that day, but it was only his second day with the sword. Zuko had had years to train.

“Thanks.”

“That’s enough for today,” Piandao called, “Go bathe so that you don’t stink up my house for dinner.”

“But Master Piandao, I was finally getting good,” Sokka whined, “Can’t we go another time.”

“You don’t need to Sokka. You’re ready for a sword, and tomorrow we will make one.”

Sokka bathed (and he had to admit, it was one of the greatest baths of his life), and then joined Zuko and Piandao for dinner. Master Piandao mostly talked about life in the capital with Zuko, which meant that Sokka got to stay mostly silent, trying to pick up any details that might be helpful. He didn’t learn much--just that the freaky knives girl lived right near the palace and how it was incredibly hot in the city at this time of year--but he figured he would store it away for later, in case any incredible plans came to him.

“Prince Zuko,” Master Piandao began as Fat cleared the bowls, “Unfortunately I was not prepared for your visit. The wing of my house that is dedicated to guest is currently under renovation, which only leaves me the room that Sokka is using as suitable for visitors. I hope it wouldn’t be too uncomfortable for you to share? I know you’re not accustomed to sharing a room--”

“I spent most of this year traveling the Earth Kingdom without a room, let alone one to myself. I assure you that it’s no bother to me,” Zuko replied. Sokka wanted to scoff, but he held back. The show Zuko was putting on for Master Piandao where he made himself seem calm and down to Earth was ridiculous. Sokka knew better than anyone about Zuko’s insane hotheadedness and lack of concern for other people. Not to mention the fact that he was down right evil. The worst part, of course, that now Sokka would be unable to sleep. There was no way he was going to be so easily murdered by Prince Jerkbender.

“Well I’m glad that you feel that way. You will have to tell me more of your travels another time. For now I will have Sokka show you to your room.”

Sokka did just that, leading Zuko down torch lit hallways until they arrived at the room Sokka had been using. It was a larger room than Sokka had ever stayed in alone, which had creeped him out the previous night, but now he wished for the eerie empty feeling over having to share with the Prince of the Fire Nation. The bed had been made properly since the morning, and a cot had been brought in, presumably for Sokka. He supposed that despite all of Zuko’s talks of hard travels he would still be too prissy to take the bed on the floor.

“Uh, I’m going to change,” Zuko said, clearly uncomfortable as he scratched the back of his neck. If it hadn’t been so dark in the room Sokka might have been able to notice him blushing.

“Ok?”

“So if you could, you know, turn around? Give me some privacy?”

“What, so you can surprise firebend me? No way. I’m not an idiot.”

Zuko groaned. “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not going to kill you?”

“At least as many times as you have actually tried to kill me,” Sokka retorted, crossing his arms over his chest as he sat down on the cot. His eyes never left Zuko.

“Look, I told you, I’m not here because of you, I’m here to get some new swords, that’s it.”

“And you expect me to believe that?”

Zuko sighed. “I expect you to believe that my reasoning has nothing to do with you, or anyone that you’re associated with.”

“Then tell me the real reason,” Sokka replied, “If it’s got nothing to do with me then you don’t need to keep it secret.”

“It’s not something I can just blurt out.”

“Then tell me what it’s about. I’ll be able to tell if it’s something I have to worry about.”

Zuko looked unsure, glancing around the room slightly before sitting on the bed. He fiddled with the hem of his shirt, looking more like a person than Sokka had ever saw him. Sokka was used to Zuko being a singular ball of rage, with no other emotions or personality traits seeping through. Honestly he probably knew more characteristics about Azula or the circus girl than Zuko.

“It’s about my Uncle,” Zuko said, his voice a hush, like there could be spies anywhere. He seemed serious, and Sokka did recall that Master Piandao had spoke of him well. It was plausible that Zuko might reach out to him for help concerning whatever happened to Iroh. Instead of voicing this rationality, however, Sokka chose to prod at Zuko instead.

“You betrayed your Uncle,” he said, “Are you here to bring down his friends as well?”

For a moment the torches on the walls flared, and Sokka braced himself to fight once more, ready to spring up from the bed or rollaway from it if need be, but again the angry flames did not come. Instead there was the hush of Zuko’s breath as the torches returned to normal.

“I chose a path for my destiny that my Uncle did not agree with. That doesn’t mean either of us betrayed each other. He… He just wanted to live a quiet life. There’s no reason for him to be in prison.”

“You know that’s not true,” Sokka replied, “There are times when one person is right and the other is wrong, and this thing between you and your Uncle, this whole war in fact, is one of those times.”

“You can’t understand what it’s like,” Zuko said, “You can’t understand what my life has been like.”

Sokka actually laughed at that. “You think I can’t understand what it’s like to grow up without a mother like you did? To grow up being taught by your father to be a warrior, only for him to desert you? To have a sister who is so impressive that you can’t help but feel incompetent? You’re not the only person with a shitty life Zuko, that’s no excuse.”

Zuko opened his mouth to respond, but closed it again. Sokka’s words had clearly had an affect on him. He sat still for a moment before finally excusing himself to go change in the bathroom, leaving Sokka alone in the room, the air now smelling slightly smoky from how the torches had flickered in time with Zuko’s emotions.

It had been several minutes and Zuko still hadn’t returned when the sound of hushed voices finally carried down the hall. Sokka was sure that he had angered Zuko enough to where Zuko would tell Piandao who he really was. Sokka quickly crept down the hallway, staying in the shadows the torches cast.

“Master Piandao, _please_ ,” Zuko said with desperation, “You must help him. As a member of the White Lotus--”

“It is not my destiny to help the Dragon of the West, Zuko,” Master Piandao responded. Apparently whispered conversations didn’t require Piandao’s false formalities.

“But I have it all planned out for you,” Zuko insisted, “On the day of the black sun there’s going to be an attack on the palace. While the guards are distracted with that it will be all too easy for you to sneak into the prison and rescue my Uncle.”

Sokka had to cover his mouth to keep himself from gasping. They _knew_. Sokka would have to rethink his entire strategy for the day of black sun. As soon as he was back he’d have to get into contact with his father and the others to decide further action. He wanted to leave at that very moment, but he knew that that would give away that he had overheard Zuko. If the Fire Nation at least didn’t know that they knew, perhaps Sokka and the others could still come up with a strategy that would surprise them.

“Zuko,” Master Piandao said, breaking Sokka out of his anxious thoughts, “Perhaps if you have already determined the plan, then you should be the one to aid Iroh.”

“No, I can’t…” Zuko said, sounding dejected, “I chose my path.”

“If the path you have chosen has come to a dead end, then perhaps it would be better to admit that it was the wrong one, turn around, and find your way again.”

“I have everything I’ve always wanted. I’ve been working towards this my whole life. I can’t turn my back on this.”

Sokka peeked around the corner. Zuko sat in an elegant chair, bent over with his head resting in his hands. It looked to Sokka like he was tearing apart at the seams. Moonlight was seeping in through the window, and yet it seemed that none of it was reaching Zuko’s dark form.

“Is that really true Zuko? What is it that you’ve been wanting?”

Zuko sat in silence for a moment, perhaps considering Piandao’s question, before finally standing up, determined.

“I don’t have time for your silly wisdom. I’m going to bed. I hope that you will reconsider my request.”

With that Zuko began making his way back in Sokka’s direction, leaving Sokka to sprint as quietly as possible back to their shared room. He hopped onto his cot and pretended to be asleep just moments before Zuko made it back into the room. The torches had dimmed in the time he was gone, making it dark enough for Sokka to peek his eyes open without it being too noticeable. Zuko was on the bed again, but rather than laying down he was sitting cross-legged, eyes closed and breaths even. Even as he was meditating Sokka felt like he could see the jittery aura beneath. He had never been attuned to spirits and energy before, but Zuko’s felt all too obvious. Thoughts of Zuko trying deceive him vanished. It was like he had gone clear, his heart and mind, all twisted and chaotic, on full display.

Sokka spent minutes just watching him. Sokka knew Zuko’s story. He had pieced it together from things Katara had told him and gossip he had heard along his travels. Everyone liked the drama of a banished Prince. In the Fire Nation particularly they took pleasure in talking about the decisive action the Fire Lord took on his no good son. Even with the return of Prince Zuko, no one seemed particularly pleased with him. The majority of people seemed to be brainwashed into believing that the Fire Lord could not make a mistake. Sokka supposed that Zuko must be equally manipulated by his father.

“I’ll do it,” Sokka found himself saying. Zuko’s eyes blinked open in surprise, like he had forgotten that Sokka was even there.

“What?”

“You want to break out your Uncle but you can’t. Show me a map of where the prison is. I’ll do it.”

“That… that doesn’t make any sense. You have no reason to be helping me.”

“Look,” Sokka said, “When I said I understood your life, I meant it. But like you, I used to think some things were right that weren’t. For instance, I used to think that women couldn’t be fighters. But I learned. It doesn’t happen all at once, and maybe you’ll just never learn and be evil forever. I’m not giving you a chance or believing that you’ll switch sides or anything. I’m just saying that… that you weren’t made to be evil, and so I’ll take you up on this one good action and I’ll break out your Uncle.”

“But…”

“But what? You don’t think I can do it? I’ll have you know that I’m now a sword fighting master, and Katara will be with me, and once he’s out of his cell we’ll have your Uncle too. Sounds pretty doable to me. I love a good prison break.”

“Sokka I… I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. Get the maps and let’s start planning. Just for tonight we can pretend we’re on the same side.”

When Master Piandao went to wake them in the morning, he found Zuko with his head laying on Sokka’s chest, the two of them fast asleep and surrounded by maps and other documents. Rather than waking them up, he just quietly pulled the door shut, smiling. It seemed that Zuko would start finding his true destiny very soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn’t resist another chapter, and then it grew and so now I HAVE to at least make another one, so I guess this fic is growing on its own accord. It’s a bit of an action packed chapter, which isn’t my area of expertise, so it’s a little rough, and again, I haven’t proofread anything. Anyway, extra special content warning for anyone who shares my strange fear of necks: don’t read the paragraph that stars “The flame hit him” if you can’t stand thinking about necks.

“I’ve got bad news and good news,” Sokka announced as he reunited with the gang, “The bad news is that the Fire Nation knows about the invasion. The good news is that I might have found Aang a fire bending teacher.”

***

The Day of Black Sun was finally upon them. Sokka could feel the nerves bubbling in his stomach. It had been a tough call, but they had all decided to go through with the Invasion despite the fact that the Fire Nation knew they were coming. They still had the surprise of the Avatar on their side, and were at least prepared for the Fire Nation to have planned a defense. If this was the only proper advantage they would have, then they would have to take it.

Except for Sokka. It broke his heart to see the Invasion proceeding without him, but he had other plans for the eclipse. While the others charged into the capital, he would be heading north west of the city to find the capital city prison. Honestly he regretted ever making that plan with Zuko. The invasion seemed far more important than breaking some old man out of prison, and with the Fire Nation knowing about the attack they would need every warrior they could get. As soon as his father had arrived at their rendezvous point Sokka had spoken to his father about his concerns. He had managed to get in contact with his father when the plans for the invasion had changed using one of Master Piandao’s messenger hawks, and his father had already seemed skeptical of Sokka’s little side mission. Sokka was certain, therefore, that his father wouldn’t be opposed to him foregoing his prison break to be with the rest of the warriors.

“Sokka,” Hakoda had said, his voice low and steady, “What are you scared of?”

“What? Scared? Me? No way,” Sokka replied, his voice cracking, “I just think the invasion can’t lose another person. I should be with everyone else.”

“Your plan was good Sokka,” Hakoda answered, “It’s unexpected, and it will hurt the Fire Nation’s pride to lose such a high profile prisoner. What you’re doing is important.”

“But you... You didn’t want me to...” Sokka stared at his hands in his lap. He hadn’t expected this to be so difficult.

“Yes well it took me a bit to realize this ‘Uncle Iroh’ was the Dragon of the West who almost conquered Ba Sing Se. If he’s really on our side then he’ll be a great asset.”

“But dad I just... It’s not logical. We can’t know that Iroh will really join us or teach Aang. The maps of the prison could be all wrong. Honestly it’s probably a trap. When I agreed to this I was just... letting emotions get the better of me.”

“Sometimes, Sokka, our emotions lead us in the best direction.”

“Yeah well now my emotions are telling me to go with the rest of the invasion,” Sokka insisted. He had been so sure that his dad would agree with him on this and now was getting increasingly frustrated. Why couldn’t his father just agree with him? Why didn’t he want him fighting beside him?

“Fear is not the emotion you should be listening to.”

“I’m not afraid!” came Sokka’s too loud response. His hands were clenched into fists. He couldn’t remember the last time he had lost his temper this way. Hakoda quirked his eyebrow in response. “I’m not... But... What if you or Katara needs me? I can’t leave you.”

“We do need you, but Katara is a warrior too now. She doesn’t need you looking out for her. She needs you carrying on with your mission.”

“For two years protecting Katara has been my only mission,” Sokka answered, “And now you suddenly want me to stop doing that because I felt a little bit of pity towards the Prince of the Fire Nation who spent months trying to kill me.”

Hakoda sighed. “I’ll support you whatever you choose to do, Sokka,” he said, “But I know your heart, and I know your mind, and I know that you wouldn’t have agreed to something that wasn’t right.” The word “right” had come out extra heavy, pushing on the pressure. It wasn’t just a good choice, but one that now seemed full of justice or importance or whatever.

“Yeah, all right Dad,” Sokka resigned.

The truth was that he couldn’t voice what he really felt in front of his dad. He knew Hakoda would understand the sentiment all too well, and that hearing the pain that his son had gone through during his first real battle would only hurt Hakoda. To Sokka, his emotions were never a guiding path. They were meant to be bottled and sealed away, hidden where they could never hurt anyone else. He wouldn’t let his scars hurt anyone else, which was why instead of dressing in his warrior regalia, embroidered with a dazzling moon, he instead put on simple clothing and his black cloak. If his father really thought it was best for him to go after Iroh, he would do it.

The plan to rescue Iroh had been edited from the one he had made with Zuko, but was generally the same. They had been forming their strategy while pretending that neither of them knew about the invasion or eclipse, and Sokka had pretended that Katara, who he said was the only person traveling with him, would be helping with the prison break, but of course her healing abilities were far too important to take away from the main plan of the day. Sokka, therefore, was on his own to find the tower nestled in the side of the crater, find the secret side entrance through the outer wall on the northern side, sneak inside, make his way to the top floor without being seen, find Iroh’s cell, and break him out. They hadn’t planned any farther than that, hoping that Iroh’s skill would be enough to get them out safely, or knowing that things would call for quick thinking before Sokka would even get to that point.

Sokka didn’t explain the invasion plan to their group. He didn’t feel it necessary when he wouldn’t even be participating. Instead he let his father address the crowd, preferring to sulk in the back, cleaning dirt out from underneath his fingernails. He didn’t even talk to anyone while they were in the submarines he designed. Sokka wanted to keep his mind in the right place—to focus on his plan—but he still felt like those feelings hadn’t been quite squashed down enough, and were rising up his throat. He couldn’t talk about it. He couldn’t upset everyone else.

As soon as they made it onto land and entered the Royal Plaza, Sokka broke away from the group. He knew he should have said goodbye to Katara, wished her luck, told her he loved her, but he didn’t. Sokka didn’t want to risk her seeing through his worry. Instead he just headed off to the side wall, where Zuko had told him there was a stable of komodo-rhinos. They hadn’t discussed a plan for how Sokka would acquire one of the creatures, both of them silently counting on guards being distracted by the unmentioned invasion. As it happened, there was still one guard left in the stable, but Sokka was quickly able to take him out with a whack to the back of the head.

The komodo-rhino was far faster than Sokka expected. It was a single animal stampede across the uninhabited part of the island. He continued stomping down his worry, focusing only on the land in front of him, searching for the prison.

When he finally saw it he was relieved. He still had about fifteen minutes until the eclipse. That was fifteen minutes to hopefully make it to Iroh. The eclipse would be most helpful as he was making his escape as long as he could manage to be sneaky. He left the komodo-rhino out of the watchtower’s line of vision before creeping along the side of the crater. He hoped that the black of his cloak and the dips in the structure would be enough to keep him from being noticed. His heart was already starting to speed up slightly, and his hand had found solace clinging to the hilt of his sword.

Once he reached the outer wall of the prison he began feeling around for the secret side door that Zuko had mapped out for him. He knew that it was meant to blend into the wall, but there had to be some trick to it. There’d need to be a seam in the stone, or some sort hinge, something that gave away the entrance. Sokka felt a bit frantic. The time crunch was getting to him, and he really didn’t want to be discovered before he had even made it into the prison.

At last, he felt a breeze coming out from the crevices of the wall. He leaned heavily on the surface of the stone, shoving until it finally budged. He kept pushing until there was a gap just large enough for him to slip through. Once inside, he took a breath. Step one was complete. All he had to do now was locate Iroh in 10 minutes, find a way to break him out of his cell, and get the hell out of there. By himself.

Sokka kept close to the crater wall, using it as a shadow to blend into as he approached the tower. It was dauntingly tall, and Sokka lamented future him for all of the stairs he would have to climb. Assuming he made it into the building.

“Long time no see.”

Sokka’s blade was out in seconds as he turned to face the voice. It had come muffled out from behind a blue kabuki mask. The wearer was dressed all in black, the hilts of dao swords showing from behind his neck.

“What are you doing here, Zuko?”

“I thought you might try this alone. It’d be pointless to have gone through the effort of planning this with you only for you to get killed before you even make it inside. Now can you lower your sword?”

“This could be a trap. You could be tricking me. Why would I trust you?”

Zuko sighed, the sound heightened by air hitting against wooden mask. “You don’t have to trust me. We just have to keep going until one of us betrays the other,” he answered, “Now hurry up.”

Zuko turned, sprinting towards the tower. It was incredible how silently he could run. Sokka tried not to be jealous, chasing after him with as much speed and agility as he could manage while remaining silent.

They paused again just outside the wall of the tower.

“We have to get the timing of our entrance right. Otherwise the guards will see us. If we wait for one of them to exit, all we have to do is knock them out quietly and we shouldn’t see another one for a few minutes,” Zuko instructed.

“Or, better idea, we go in through the window,” Sokka said, nodding towards the small openings in the wall, “You said that each cell has a separate cage but that the door to the room is left unlocked. The window has to be situated above the cage so that there’s no chance of the prisoners escaping. If we can get through there, we just have to walk across the top of the bars, check to make sure there’s no guards, and head towards the stairs.”

“That… is a better plan,” Zuko conceded, “I’ll give you a boost.” He proceeded to squat slightly into a sturdier stance, netting his fingers together. Sokka stepped into his hands, propelling himself upward as much as he could, Zuko trying to give him some lift. He managed to get a grip on the window, shimmying inside the small opening and onto the bars of the cage.

“Please don’t scream,” Sokka whispered to the prisoner below him. He was prepared to find a way to break them out too, but the person, long hair blocking their face, seemed to be asleep. Sokka tried not to think about what the fire nation could have done to make the person so out of it that they didn’t even raise their head at someone climbing in their window. “Hurry up,” he whispered, stretching his hand out the window to pull Zuko up.

Zuko, apparently, didn’t need the help much. Instead, he got a running start and jump incredibly high, flung himself towards the opening. His fingernails caught on the ledge and Sokka grabbed his wrists, helping him scramble inside.

“The prisoner?” Zuko whispered.

“Asleep,” Sokka replied, “Or passed out. Or dead.” He began his descent down the side of the cage, and Zuko hurried beside him. They crouched, making their way to the door. Sokka took a quick glance out the barred window on the door, looking for guards. There was one, far down the hall and headed their way. They’d have to stay hidden until the guard passed.

“That mask,” Sokka whispered, his voice barely more than a breath, “Where have I seen it before?

“Now really isn’t the time, Sokka.”

“Ooo, it’s a secret then.”

Zuko let out a huff. “You probably saw it on wanted posters.”

“Ohhh, you’re impersonating a criminal.”

“What? No. I am the… well not anymore… I did things that might have been misinterpreted as criminal.”

“You fucked over the Fire Nation and you didn’t tell me? That’s important prison break bonding information.”

“I didn’t. I just fucked over Zhao,” Zuko answered.

Sokka couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “Even better. I hate Zhao more than anyone else in the world. Even more than your dad. More than your sister. Maybe even more than you.”

Sokka barely got out the last of his sentence as Zuko placed a warm hand over his mouth. The footsteps of the guard grew louder, and finally a shadow passed over the window. They waited another minute or so before checking the hallway again and sneaking slowly out into it. The stairs were the direction the guard had come from, and Zuko held Sokka’s wrist while he quickly made his way towards them and began their journey upwards. Sokka supposed that he should have told Zuko to let go of him, but he didn’t exactly mind the touch. There was something about the tangible proof of someone being with him that made his heart beat a little steadier.

Both boys were panting slightly by the time they reached the 8th floor. As athletic as they were, trying to jog up several flights of stairs while remaining silent was not the easiest task.

“The eclipse is happening in less than a minute. We need to—“ Sokka began, but he was interrupted by a loud creak of metal followed by several shouts from the guards.

“That must be my Uncle,” Zuko said, charging into the hall without regard for the excess of people now filling the hall. He pulled out his dao and began swinging at the guards, defending against their still active firebending with just the metal of his blades.

Zuko’s blades, like Sokka’s, were a dark glossy color. Sokka had had to bring Zuko down to retrieve the meteorite with him. It would have been far too difficult on his own, and he couldn’t exactly ask his friends for help and risk Zuko finding out about Aang. Zuko had insisted that Sokka share the strange material with him as a sort of payment for helping him push and blast the space rock back to Master Piandao’s. Sokka had agreed with only a small amount of loud complaints.

They had made the swords together, with Piandao directing them. It was hard work, drenching both the boys in sweat as they kept the fire (sans firebending per Piandao’s instructions), molded and hammered the blades, and created designs for the hilt. Sokka and Zuko hadn’t been able to talk while they were making them, the clash of metal and roar of the fire all too loud, but Sokka had felt incredibly in tune with what Zuko was doing that entire time. He had never believed in any of that chi stuff before, but there was something about that day—about being able to _feel_ Zuko’s presence—that almost made him understand it.

Following Zuko into this battle felt the same. He drew his sword as he ran straight for one of the guards. Sokka couldn’t hear anything over the sound of fireblasts and metal sword against metal armor, and he couldn’t see past the smoke and bright flashes of the flame, but he seemed to always know where Zuko was, and moved in sync with him.

Within no time the eclipse began. The firebenders all seemed generally surprised about their lack of ability, as if no one had warned them about the power of the eclipse, despite the Fire Nation being aware of it. Sokka wondered if they were kept out of the loop so that the invasion might be surprised about the Fire Nation’s preparedness.

Without their fire power, the guards quickly took to fleeing. As they ran, Sokka finally spotted Iroh, looking as strong as ever despite his mangled hair grey hair.

“Nephew,” Iroh said, his voice full of surprise, “What are you doing here?”

“We’re breaking you out,” Zuko answered, “Come on, let’s go before the eclipse let’s up.”

Zuko grabbed Iroh by this wrist this time, dragging him towards the stairs. Sokka followed behind, sword drawn as he looked out for any guards behind them.

They took the stairs three or four at a time, racing the sun. When they reached the fourth floor, however, Zuko abruptly stopped.

“Take my Uncle and get out of here,” he instructed, “I’ll meet you on the Northern side of the wall, by where you left your komodo-rhino. If I’m not there in fifteen minutes, leave without me.”

“What? No. I’m not leaving without you,” Sokka answered, “Right now we’re in this together. I’m not losing anyone today, including you, jerkbender.”

“I’m trying to do you a favor,” Zuko protested.

“Whatever it is, we can do it together,” Sokka answered.

“Listen to him Zuko,” Uncle Iroh said, “Like your swords, people are stronger in groups.”

”...Fine. You two take the fourth cell down, I’ll take the fifth one. If the fire comes back on, worry about getting each other out. I can fend for myself.”

That seemed as good as it was going to get, so Sokka sprinted down the hallway. He didn’t have time to consider how blindly he had followed Zuko’s plan. Sokka had no idea what would be on the other side of the cell door—it could be Azula waiting patiently to attack him for all he knew—but he went charging in anyway. Somehow he found himself trusting that blue masked face.

Inside the cage were two girls, each of them with dark hair. Their skin looked pale, more from lack of nutrition or sleep than from natural complexion. There were notable bruises on one of their faces, and scorch marks around the sleeve of the other’s tunic.

“Sokka!” one of them said, sounding rather surprised. It was then that he was able to recognize the Kyoshi Warriors.

“Kana, Aya, it’s so good to see you both,” Sokka said, “We’re getting you all out of here.”

“Fumi and Emiri are here somewhere too,” Kana said as Sokka began picking at the lock with the point of his sword.

“We have someone else with us. The Blue Spirit from all those wanted posters. He’s getting them out,” Sokka said, “And Suki…?”

“They separated us from her before we came here. I think they took her somewhere else,” Kana explained. Sokka tried not to let the nerves get to him. He couldn’t think about Suki now. He had to quash those feelings and focus.

“All right. It’s ok. I’m going to get you all to safety.”

It was another minute before the lock finally opened. Kana tried to pull Aya forward, but she stumbled after her. She didn’t seem like she was a full person. Aya had once been full of life. She had been the loudest, after Suki, in her teasing of Sokka. Her humor was the closest match to Sokka’s own, and now she seemed like a shell.

“She’s not her strongest right now…” Kana said.

“It’s fine. You take this,” he said, passing off his sword to Kana, “And I’ll get Aya.”

He crouched down slightly so that Aya could crawl onto his back. She might have been weak, but her grip around his neck was still solid enough. The four of them took off to the other cell, where Zuko was still kicking at the lock.

“See what a shit job you would have done on your own?” Sokka said, “How can you not pick a lock?”

“They melted it together,” Zuko said, clearly frustrated it.

“The Fire Nation didn’t seem pleased with all our escape attempts,” Fumi explained. It made sense. She was Suki’s right hand. There was no way she would succumb to the fear and torture of prison.

“Right. Uh… ok… We need a plan.”

“Well you’re the plan guy,” Zuko said.

“Yes well maybe if you had told me earlier that we were actually breaking five people out of jail then I would have come more prepared!”

“You didn’t even come as prepared as I told you to! You were supposed to bring Katara, who could have frozen the lock to make it easier to break.”

“Well she’s got more important things to do right now! I also had more important things to do but—“

“You should leave us,” Emiri interrupted, “The guards will come back soon. All of you should get out while you can.”

“No. There’s no way I’m leaving anyone behind today. We’ll think of something.”

“I’ve got something,” Iroh said, before taking a deep breath, “The firebending is back.”

Sokka’s eyes widened as Iroh grasped the cage, heating the metal and pulling it apart. It was an extraordinary feat to see. It wasn’t quite as remarkable as Toph’s metalbending talent, but it was still quite impressive.

“Great, let’s get out—“ Zuko began as he opened the door, but then immediately shut it back, leaning his weight on it. “There’s at least ten guards headed down the hall, hands blazing.”

“Ok, then the new plan is the old plan. We’re going out through the window,” Sokka said.

“We’re four stories up,” Zuko pointed out.

“Yes but there were ledges on the outside. If we can make it onto the ledge, then get to the edge of the crater, we should be able to find a way to shimmy down between the wall and the rock.”

“You’re sure about this?” Kana asked.

“No, but we can’t stay here. Come on. Fumi, you first.”

Fumi was the tallest and broadest of the bunch, which meant she would be the best at helping the others get down safely. They quickly began climbing up and over the cage. Fumi climbed out the window first, lowering herself down onto the ledge slowly. Next went Iroh, then Kana. With the three of them off of the cage Sokka began to climb it. It was a bit difficult to maneuver himself with Aya still on his back, but he managed. When Emiri made it out, Sokka reached the top of the cage and turned to look behind him.

“Zuko, come on.”

Aya tensed up at that, formerly unaware that the Blue Spirit was actually the prince of the Fire Nation. She didn’t say anything else though, or do anything to get them away from Zuko. She trusted Sokka’s choice.

“I’ll hold them off. Give you a bit of a head start.”

“Didn’t you hear me dumbass? Today you’re one of us, and we don’t leave anyone behind.”

“I’ll be right behind you Sokka,” Zuko assured him, “Just go.”

Sokka turned away from Zuko, hearing the stomps of the guards approaching. Zuko would be ok. He had bending and two swords and nepotism on his side. Aya, who was depending on Sokka, barely had the ability to stand on her own. He had to convince himself that losing Zuko wouldn’t be a loss at all.

And yet, when he turned, the sight of Zuko standing alone, dao swords drawn, determined, made Sokka pause for just a moment. He couldn’t lose anyone. Slowly he coaxed Aya off of his back and out the window. Fumi caught her easily.

“Go to the north side of the crater. Be careful lowering yourself down. When you get out, you should find a komodo rhino just out of sight of the tower. It’ll be slower with all of you, but people will be distracted. Try to make it for the beach and stay by the submarines. We’ll catch up with you as soon as we can.”

“We’ll see you again soon,” Kana promised.

Sokka scrambled back down the side of the cage to stand beside Zuko. His heart was racing.

“Give me one of your swords,” he insisted.

“What? Where did yours go?”

“Kana has it. I couldn’t leave them without protection.”

“They have my Uncle.”

“He could turn on them for all I know. But that’s not the point. The point is at the end of one of those swords you’re going to lend me.”

“You don’t even know how to use them,” Zuko insisted.

“So? You have magic fire and two swords and I have nothing,”

“Because you should lea—“ Zuko started, but before he could finish his thought the guards were pounding on the door. Zuko and Sokka leaned against it, trying to keep it from opening, but the force of a dozen guards was too much for them. Silently, Zuko passed Sokka one of his swords and then backed away, readying himself for a fight as the guards poured in.

When Sokka had found out about the eclipse in the library months before, he had envisioned fighting in the front lines of a great battle, helping to take down the Fire Lord at Aang’s side. He had never imagined that instead he’d be fighting his way out of a prison with the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation.

That night that they had planned the prison break had been strange. They were dancing around the eclipse and the invasion, but they both knew the other knew. It was difficult not to reveal any of the invasion’s true plans, and that lead to Sokka perhaps revealing too much in unrelated areas.

They spoke about their moms. Sokka had shared that he always felt guilty for trusting his dad to save her, rather than trying to do anything himself. He knew he was just a kid, but when he thought about that day all he could imagine was what would have happened if he hadn’t lost time running to Hakoda.

Zuko had tried to distract him from sad thoughts with funny stories. He told him about going on dates with a girl in Ba Sing Se, trying to teach himself to juggle in his spare time to prove that he really had been part of some traveling circus.

For that one night, Sokka was allowed to show his emotions, and Zuko was allowed to pretend he was normal. Since then, on some nights Sokka had even missed Zuko. Not the ponytailed Prince that had tried to kill him, but the one who had gently said “that’s rough buddy,” when Sokka had mentioned Yue. No one else seemed to know how to comfort him. Sokka wished that that Zuko, illuminated in torch light, would exist again.

The guards entered and the fighting began. Sokka was ducking away from fire blasts that seemed to surround him. He sliced through the flames, searching for the exposed arms of the guards. There was little point in trying to slice through metal armor.

“Sokka!” Zuko shouted, causing Sokka to turn and see the guard coming at him, flame raised high. Sokka ducked, rolling away from the woman’s flame before clobbering her in the back of the head with the hilt of his sword. She dropped, falling forward. The sting from the force welled in his arm, but he turned back to the other guards, cutting through them, hoping to injure them enough to stop them. If he took out the strength in their arms, they wouldn’t be able to follow them out the window.

It seemed like they were winning, somehow. The two of them against twelve fully grown firebending guards. Sokka had taken down at least four of them, and Zuko slightly more. Still, the smoke had gotten thicker. There were too many flames in such a small space with a small window, and Sokka heard the shout of “You disgusting snow savage,” before he could see the guard charging at him.

The flames hit him in the shoulder, too hot and close. The smell of his flesh stung his nose, and he felt his eyes begin to water. Still, his grip on Zuko’s sword tightened, and he slashed wildly until the blade hit skin. His eyes widened, horrified as he saw the sharp edge of meteorite pull against the skin of the guards throat.

Before he could realize what he had done, Zuko was pushing him back towards the cage hoisting him up onto it. “We’ve gotta go, come on Sokka!”

Sokka bit his lip till it drew blood, the pain in his shoulder making it difficult to climb even in his dazed and overly adrenalined state. He slid carefully out the window, hanging onto the ledge with his good arm before he could safely drop. Zuko was right behind him, slashing at a guard even as he still descended.

“Run!” Zuko shouted, as soon as he was on the ledge. The two of them took off towards the northern side of the prison, Zuko finally throwing fire at the two guards that had made it out behind them as they ran. Sokka searched for any sign of the others as they ran, and as they approached the edge of the crater he finally spotted Fumi and Aya two ledges down, almost to the ground.

“Where’s everyone else?” Zuko shouted.

“I had them go ahead,” Fumi said, “They should be out already.”

The guards were fast approaching, and Zuko shouted at Sokka to start climbing. His burnt shoulder made it difficult to descend with any sort of grace or speed, but it was manageable. He was halfway to the next ledge when he saw the body of a guard fly downward past him, landing on the ground with a distinct crunch. Sokka winced, but kept moving. Eventually Zuko was above him, also starting to climb down.

Fumi and Aya were on the last ledge before Sokka noticed the guards pouring out to the ground below. There were at least twenty of them, all already blasting fire at Fumi and Aya.

“What now!?” Fumi shouted up to him.

“I… I don’t know. I don’t… We’ll fight them off… We’ll…”

Sokka wanted to vomit. They were going to die. He couldn’t even save all the Kyoshi warriors. What would Suki think? What would his dad think of his failure? Katara would have to grieve again and it would be his fault for going along with this stupid plan.

In the distance there was a grumbling roar, and Sokka looked upward to see Appa coming toward them. He couldn’t hold back the whoop of joy from coming out of his throat.

“That’s our way out!” he shouted, pointing excitedly towards Appa. When the bison got closer Aang hopped down from his back, sending the guards back with a gust of wind. Katara helped Fumi and Aya onto the bison first before coming alongside Sokka.

“Quickly,” she said, as Sokka climbed into the saddle. He glanced back at Zuko, who was standing stiff still, hesitant.

“Come on, dumbass,” Sokka shouted to him, “We’ll get you somewhere safe.” Zuko stayed where he was until Sokka leaned out the saddle, reaching his good arm towards Zuko. “I’m not losing anyone today,” Sokka repeated, and finally Zuko took his hand, hoisting himself onto the saddle.

Kana, Emiri, and Iroh were already in the saddle, along with Teo, the Duke, Haru, and the rest of the gang. It was a lot of people for Appa to handle, but he pushed through. Sokka wondered why they were all together, but didn’t risk saying anything.

Aang let Appa land at a secluded part of the island, away from any fighting. There’d be enough time to get Zuko off safely.

Before he could even begin to leave the saddle, however, Iroh spoke.

“I will be leaving you here, Avatar.”

“What!?” Sokka exclaimed, “But you’re supposed to teach Aang firebending.”

“I’m afraid it is not my destiny to continue with you kids,” Iroh said, “The problems of the world were created by my generation, and the ones before me. It is the hope of you young people that will be strong enough to bring peace to the world. I thank you for helping me get out of prison, but I have already prepared safe passage for myself to the Earth Kingdom. I will not be Aang’s firebending teacher, but I’m sure you will find one soon.”

“Bullshit,” Sokka said, “We did all this. You can’t _leave_.”

“Uncle,” Zuko said, “I promised them a firebending teacher. You must go with them.”

“If you made a promise,” Iroh replied, “The honorable thing to do is to be true to your word.”

Sokka was raging. He had a burnt shoulder for nothing. Iroh was already leaving the saddle. Sokka couldn’t even bring himself to look at Aang. It was all pointless.

“...I’ll stay,” Zuko said, finally taking off the mask, “If you’ll have me. I’ll teach Aang firebending. I can join your group, or you can keep me prisoner, or—“

“No,” Katara said sternly, “There’s no way.”

Zuko sighed, before making eye contact with Aang. “Did you defeat my father?” he asked.

Aang lowered his head, shaking it.

“You need to learn firebending. I’m right here. I won’t betray you, and even if I did I’m incredibly out numbered. You could take me.”

“We can’t trust him,” Katara insisted.

“I don’t think we have a choice right now,” Sokka replied.

“But—“

“Yip yip,” Aang said quietly, putting an end to the argument as Appa took to the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn’t include it in the chapter because my 3rd person limited POV filters things through Sokka’s mind, but Hakoda really is some butch in this chapter like “you gotta save Iroh because if Aang dies today Iroh is probably our best shot at killing Ozai.” I love Hakoda and yet I always accidentally make him a bad person in my fics.  
> Also I hope you like my Kyoshi Warriors ocs all right. As soon as I saw on the capital city prison wiki that they were there I knew I had to bust them out. Since Suki is a Japanese name I figured I give them Japanese names as well. Do none of them really have names in the canon or could I just not find them?  
> Anyway!! I hope you enjoyed this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we’ve reached the conclusion. I honestly have no idea how this fic got to where it is. It had a bit of a mind of its own. I hope you enjoy it all the same. (Please make sure to read the tags for cw updates.) Again, this sucker still needs to be proofread.

“We can’t just bring Zuko!” Katara continued, “We can find Jong Jong again. Or literally any other firebender. We can’t just forget everything he’s done just because you want to learn to spew fire!”

“Katara,” Aang answered, “You know it’s more than—“

“Um, before we have this fight,” Sokka interrupted, looking over the side of Appa’s saddle, “It looks like we’re going the wrong way. We should be headed back to the submarines.”

Sokka wasn’t exactly sure what had happened, besides Aang not being able to defeat the Fire Lord, but he knew that the plan had always been to meet back up at the start point if people were separated. He hadn’t even considered that the reason why the gang had arrived at the prison was because they had already met back up with everyone else.

“We’re not going back,” Katara finally said, her voice soft, “It seemed like the best plan would be to live to fight another day...”

“Well then we should stay close by. Make sure everyone gets out ok,” Sokka insisted.

“Sokka... They’re surrendering,” Katara answered.

“No. No way. We have to go back for them!” At this point Sokka had begun to half walk, half crawl toward the front of the bison. He was determined to take the reigns from Aang and turn Appa around.

“Sokka,” Katara did softly, grabbing hold of him so that he couldn’t make it any farther. He winced, the burn from his shoulder starting to sear with pain now that the adrenaline had worn off.

“Katara, that’s our dad we’re talking about. How can you leave him?”

“You know I don’t want to, Sokka,” she said, “But if we go back we might all be killed.”

He wanted to argue with her more. Surely they had enough power between them to get the other warriors to safety. Yet, when he looked at Katara’s face, her eyes glossy and forehead wrinkled, he stopped himself. Fighting would come to nothing, and only serve to upset her further. This was just as difficult for her as it was for him, and he had no right to ignore logic for his emotional needs.

So instead of fighting their decision he just sat back down, trying to hide his clenched fists. The rest of the trip was silent. All Sokka could do was sit, playing memories over in his mind. Young Katara alone and sobbing in their home. Yue’s figure slowly drifting away from him. Saying goodbye to Suki, wishing he had insisted that she stay by his side. A blade drawing blood. The burn in his shoulder. All of these and several more were on repeat for the entirety of their trip to the Western Air Temple.

As soon as they landed, Teo, Haru, and the Duke were running off to explore. Sokka felt slightly disgusted at their light attitudes. Who could possibly play and have fun after losing a battle? Katara was more pragmatic, talking about finding firewood and starting on dinner for everyone. The Kyoshi warriors seemed very enthusiastic about the idea of eating at least somewhat properly, and got to work helping Katara.

“I...I’m going to look for a bathroom,” Sokka finally said before breaking off from the group alone. He was feeling too many things at once. There was the burning of his shoulder, soreness in his muscles, his stomach felt like it was bubbling with anxiety, he was angry and heartbroken and he hated himself. He hated how much of a failure he was. There were no successes, no victories, just an ever growing line of people Sokka had let down, following him wherever he went. He hadn’t even found a way up into the pagodas before he vomited. There wasn’t much in his system—the nerves of the morning kept him from eating too much—but even after it was out he kept dry heaving. He hoped that he was far enough from the group that they wouldn’t hear. Sokka knew that it was worse right now for Aang and probably Katara as well. He couldn’t be selfish. He’d have to be strong and help them get through this and plan their next move.

“Sokka...?” came a tentative voice behind him.

“Go away Zuko,” Sokka replied, his voice coming out angrier than he had intended. He clenched his fists and took a breath, trying to get a grip on his emotions, but it didn’t seem to help. Everything inside him felt like it was crashing like waves against the sand, shifting and changing and trying to reach farther and farther up the shore. Sokka couldn’t even turn to look at Zuko.

“I thought I’d come check on you,” Zuko explained, “You didn’t look so good. I wanted to make sure—“

Zuko was interrupted by another bout of Sokka’s dry heaving. He felt like even the air around him was betraying him, tugging and pushing right at his throat. Sokka felt a hand rest on his back and quickly shoved it away. He was firm, even while he struggled to catch his breath.

“I said go away ashmaker!” His shout was slightly hushed, both by the soreness in his throat and his desire to keep the rest of the gang away, but it was still as impactful as if he had let it echo against the canyon.

“I... I’ll go get Katara then. Maybe she’ll—“

“If you get Katara I swear I’ll kill you,” Sokka said, finally turning to face Zuko. The image of blade on skin, pulling, the first drops of blood, came to Sokka’s mind. He felt dizzy, and squatted down.

Zuko didn’t leave. For several moments he just stood still, staring at Sokka completely bewildered. Sokka couldn’t stand the sight of him, choosing to lower his head into his hands instead. He thought he might feel wetness around his eyes, but he ignored it.

“Here,” Zuko finally said, his voice much closer. Sokka raised his head slightly and saw Zuko crouching beside him, holding out a small canteen.

“You probably poisoned it.”

“You think I’m going to waste poison on someone who seems more than capable of making themself sick without my help?”

Sokka was a bit surprised to hear Zuko make a joke, and even more surprised that he couldn’t bring himself to laugh at it. He knew it had been a funny enough line, but it couldn’t get past whatever barrier was blocking out any goodness from reaching him. Instead of reacting he just took the canteen and drank. The water somehow felt painful and soothing at the same time.

“Thank you for today,” Zuko said after another moment’s pause, “I’m sorry it didn’t turn out as planned. I know you would much rather have my Uncle here.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Sokka said. He didn’t want to think about all the people that he would rather have than Zuko.

“He’d be able to help with what’s troubling you too. My Uncle is very good at talking about things and making people feel better.”

“Yeah, well I’m not really in the mood for talking.” Sokka couldn’t keep the annoyance out of his voice. He just wanted to stop thinking, or feeling, or existing. The last one, he figured, could be easy surrounded by high cliffs as they were, but he wouldn’t do that to Katara.

“l don’t usually like talking either,” Zuko replied, “Meditating sometimes helps, but—“

“Why are you here?” Sokka finally demanded.

“Well, like I said, you looked a little sick, and I wasn’t exactly going to stay by Katara.”

“No, why are you _here_?” Sokka repeated, “You had no reason to come with us. Your Uncle was free. You could have gone back and lived it up as the fucking Prince of the Fire Nation.”

“Oh, well,” Zuko said, scratching at the back of his neck, “That’d because of you.”

“Great, another thing that’s my fault.” The sarcasm was surprisingly helpful. It was like he could breathe a little better if he could prove that he was still himself.

“No, I just mean that it was something you said,” Zuko explained, “At Master Piandao’s you said that I wasn’t made to be evil, and of course I disagreed, maybe even still disagree if I’m being honest, with the assertion that I was evil, but... I don’t know. My whole life I’ve been so concerned about my destiny. I was destined to capture the Avatar, or save him, or whatever. Either side had all of these pressures on me. And when you said I wasn’t made for that I was originally pretty upset by it, like you were telling me I was useless or purposeless. But then I just felt relieved. It was like I finally realized that my life was mine, and that I didn’t have to figure out what the Universe wanted me to do. I could just do what I wanted, one action at a time, not worrying about everything I would do or become. It wasn’t that I wanted to... to be good—not that I don’t want to be—I just... I wanted to come with you, so I did.”

“Fuck the Universe,” Sokka said, holding up the canteen like he was toasting, “And her constant need to ruin my life.”

He took a drink of water before passing the canteen back to Zuko. Zuko seemed a bit nervous, but drank as well.

“When you’re ready you should have Katara heal that burn on your shoulder,” Zuko said, returning the canteen to Sokka before standing.

“It’s not that bad,” Sokka replied.

“I know burns, Sokka. That’s a bad one.”

Sokka sighed, running his hand through the sides of his hair. “Katara is probably worrying about so much right now. If she sees this it’ll just add more, and she’ll bother me for information. I can’t put more things on her plate.”

“Fine then, come with me,” he said holding out his hand to Sokka. At that point Sokka realized he might have a bit of a blind spot when it came to Zuko. No matter how much his brain told him not to trust Zuko, he always seemed to fold under the stare of those amber eyes. He took Zuko’s hand and let him pull him to his feet. For some reason, he didn’t drop Zuko’s hand as he lead him up a long set of stairs. His legs were sore from earlier, but he wouldn’t allow himself to fall behind Zuko’s pace.

Eventually they reached the top of the canyon. It was dense with trees, sunlight barely seeping in between a thick layer of leaves. Sokka was simultaneously sure that this was how he would die, weaponless in a forest with the prince of the enemy, and also sure that he was in no way afraid. Zuko had stopped being the stuff of his nightmares long ago, despite the likelihood of him betraying Sokka again.

“Sit,” Zuko instructed, “And take your shirt off.”

“You’re supposed to make me dinner first,” Sokka said. It was an easy joke, but it helped him feel a bit more like himself all the same. He listened to Zuko, sitting on a log and untying his shirt. When he went to shrug it off some of the fabric stuck to his burnt and blistering skin. He left the fabric dangling from his shoulder, unsure the best way to go about detaching it.

He watched Zuko move around the forest, inspecting leaves and berries. Eventually he moved back to Sokka, kneeling down in front of him. He sat the plants down next to him before pulling out a dagger and carefully cutting the fabric off of Sokka’s skin. Sokka’s fingers tangled in the grass and his breath shortened. The blade was close to his neck, and the iron smell of blood wafted through his imagination.

“Relax, I won’t hurt you,” Zuko said. His breath, not far from Sokka’s skin, was what drew Sokka back into the present. Calloused hands pushed purple berries against his skin. They were cool from the shade and seemed to relieve some of the pain. Sokka’s shoulder and Zuko’s hand were staining each other dark red. After his shoulder was thoroughly coated, Zuko wet the leaves with the remaining water from the canteen, pushing them against Sokka’s shoulder until they stuck. They left a stinging sensation, but it was not altogether unpleasant.

“And this will help heal me?” Sokka asked.

“It should,” Zuko said.

“How do you know about this stuff?”

“Oh, uh, well I’m sort of an expert in Airbender history. I know the layout of all the temples, their daily routines, what they ate, and how they used the nature around them.”

“Well for once your obsession with capturing Aang has been a real help to me.”

“I wasn’t obsessed with _Aang_ ,” Zuko corrected, “I was obsessed with being allowed back home and with my father being proud of me.”

“And you’re not anymore?” Sokka asked as Zuko began untying the fabric around Sokka’s wrist.

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Zuko said, wrapping the band around Sokka’s shoulder to secure the leaves in place.

“That’s not an answer.”

Zuko sighed. “Look, I won’t lie to you Sokka. My old desires didn’t just go away, but my new ones—my want to live one step at a time, to make one good choice, and then another, and then another—those wants are stronger. I have been taught since I was a kid to find my value in whatever scraps of love my father threw at me. It might take some time to unlearn that. But I’m trying.”

Sokka just nodded. He didn’t have words to do Zuko’s confession any justice.

“...Could you try putting in a good word for me with the others?” Zuko asked in a hushed tone, “I don’t expect them to trust me, or for me to be their friend or anything, but if we could at least get to a point where they could comfortably ignore me, that’d be great.”

“I’ll do my best.”

***

“Where did the two of you run off to?” Toph asked with a suggestive tone as Zuko and Sokka returned to the main courtyard.

“We were just exploring a bit,” Sokka explained, “There’s a pretty cool forest above us. Seemed like there was a river for fishing and plenty of edible plants as well.”

Zuko stayed quiet, his nerves almost tangible from where he stood next to Sokka.

“Right, well now that you’re back we need to talk about what we’re going to do about _him_ ,” Katara said, gesturing towards Zuko.

“Katara,” Aang said softly, “I need to learn firebending, and it seems like Zuko has proved himself capable of change.”

“Yeah, capable of changing sides at any minute! How long until he betrays us this time!?” Katara replied.

“Look, it’s my fault he’s here, so I’ll take responsibility for him. You don’t have to trust him, just trust me to look out for you all,” Sokka said.

Katara didn’t look happy, but she at least gave a stern nod. It was the best Sokka could expect from her.

***

A little later, the whole group gathered in the courtyard to eat. Sokka sat beside Zuko, forcing down bites of stew. He had no appetite, but he knew that not eating would only make people worry.

“I cleaned your sword for you, Sokka,” Kana said from her place by Zuko. She was one of the few other people that didn’t seem to entirely hate his guts. “I put it with the rest of your things.”

“Oh... thanks.” It was such a small thing, but was such a relief for Sokka. He didn’t want to have to look at the blood that had crusted to it.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s the least I could do after what you did for us.”

Sokka shrugged. “That was mostly Zuko anyway. I was just along for the ride really.”

“Yeah, well I can’t exactly be thankful to someone who burned down my village,” she said, smiling. Zuko blushed, eyes directed at his bowl. She was clearly teasing, but it didn’t make his past any less embarrassing.

“Oh come on, that was one time. It’s not like it was his fault that Azula was able to take over Ba Sing Se,” Sokka said, continuing to prod the poor firebender.

From across the circle Sokka noticed Katara roll her eyes. She clearly wasn’t happy about them making light of Zuko’s past.

“Hmm, maybe I should feel honored that breaking me and the girls out of prison was the first nice thing he ever did,” Kana replied.

“You know, I think he might have done a few ok things before that. Pretty sure he was a wanted criminal as well as the prince. Isn’t that right, Blue Spirit?”

“Oh yeah!” Aang said, “He saved me from Zhao. It was awesome! Well, until I asked if we could be friends and he tried to kill me.”

“I didn’t try to kill you,” Zuko said quietly, “I’m not stupid. Killing the Avatar is a bit pointless.”

“See, look how nice Zuko is, making sure he doesn’t kill Aang so that the Fire Nation won’t genocide the Water Tribes like they did to the airbenders.”

Zuko huffed at Sokka’s remark. It might have been a smidge too far for dinner talk, but Sokka wouldn’t take it back either.

“On a better note, I did free your bison,” Zuko said.

“Your lies aren’t going to make us like you,” Katara said, her voice harsh. She didn’t sound like herself.

“He’s not lying,” Toph said with a shrug.

“It was in Ba Sing Se,” Zuko explained, “I saw the posters about Appa being missing. It was pretty obvious that something was up with the Dai Li, so I captured one of them and had them tell me where Appa was. I went to this secret base under Lake Laogi, found Appa, and let him go. Admittedly, it wasn’t my original plan, but I’m glad I did it.”

“Thank you Zuko,” Aang said, smiling.

***

Every time Sokka closed his eyes to sleep his mind was flooded with images of ghosts and blood. For hours he drifted between nerves and nightmares, waking up coated in sweat whenever he managed to doze off. Eventually he gave up on sleep, choosing instead to make a crude torch and wander around the pagodas.

It wasn’t much better. Shadows drifted around the walls, keeping him alert. He supposed that there were more ghosts here than other places. It seemed suspicious, the lack of evidence that the Fire Nation had been here. Sokka supposed he should have felt relieved about not having to hide corpses from Aang again, but he still found it unsettling.

Sokka kept wandering, until he came to a small square room at the bottom of the structure. Inside was a large statue of a female airbender, somehow looking fierce and stern even in her pose of meditation. The walls were completely covered in an intricate mosaic. The wall behind her depicted a herd of sky bison flying through the breeze. The wall to Sokka’s left showed the sun, radiating light, as two dragons soared around it, circling it. Slowly, Sokka turned to the wall on his right. In the mosaic the moon was full, it’s light reflecting in powerful ocean waves. The tiles chosen for the moon’s reflection were done in such a way to where, if one focused on the design, they could see the outline of two fish, swimming in perfect harmony.

Sokka placed his torch in the sconce at the corner of the wall, freeing his hands to trace along the smooth edges of the tiles. His fingers could just barely reach the bottom of the moon. Eventually he took to tracing over her reflection instead, his finger moving between the small lines of grout.

“I missed you,” he said, his voice joining the breeze seeping through small windows at the top of the walls.

It could have been hours that he stood there, just tracing the design. As he did so he felt his mind easing, no longer focusing on the horrors of days passed.

***

“Sokka! There you are! I was so worried.” Zuko’s voice dragged Sokka out of sleep. He hadn’t dreamt. It was a relief.

Sometime during the night he had curled up in the monk’s lap, still able to stare at the moon mosaic from where his head rested on her knee. Eventually he had managed to fall asleep, his thoughts unable to trouble him as he stared at the mosaic.

“Is something wrong?” Sokka asked, stretching as he sat up.

“No, I just woke up and went down to do some training, and you weren’t with everyone else. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t kidnapped or anything.”

“As long as you’re on our side there’s probably not anyone out there trying to kidnap me. Kill, maim, slaughter, yes, but you were the only one ever interested in the whole kidnapping thing.”

“Well I wasn’t going to let myself imagine you being dead. You’re too important.”

Sokka couldn’t help but laugh at that. He didn’t want to. The noise of his laughter in his ear made himself feel sick, but he couldn’t stop himself either.

“I’m a failure Zuko, same as you,” he said, unable to keep insults out of his mouth, “Except unlike you I don’t have this great, change of heart opportunity to fix things.”

“Sokka,” Zuko replied, “You’re not a—“

“I most definitely am. I’m a total screw up. Every battle I’ve been in has been an utter disaster. I couldn’t protect Yue, I couldn’t protect Suki in Ba Sing Se, my father is probably dead now from surrendering during my invasion plan.”

“They won’t kill him,” Zuko said, “The Fire Nation believes it’s dishonorable for someone to lose in battle, and thinks it’s worse to live in shame than to die.”

Zuko’s words did little to bring Sokka relief. Sokka had seen the Kyoshi warriors. The Fire Nation obviously did not treat their prisoners well. How much worse would they treat his father, who was a grown man with power in the anti-Fire Nation movement?

“I just want things to go right for me, just once,” Sokka said, “I don’t want to lose anyone else. Is that too much to ask?”

“No, it isn’t,” Zuko said, sitting down next to Sokka, “But when it does happen, it’s also not too much to ask for help from others. Keeping it all inside you doesn’t help anyone.”

“I don’t need to burden everyone else with my feelings.”

“It’s not a burden, Sokka. _You’re_ not a burden,” Zuko said. He raised his arm, then lowered it, then raised it again and placed it around Sokka’s shoulder. Sokka’s mind told him to pull away from the touch, but his body was too quick, instead choosing to lean into Zuko’s warmth.

“How can I live like this?” he asked, pressing his face into Zuko’s neck so that he wouldn’t be able to see him start to cry, “It all hurts all the time and I try to ignore it, but I can’t even deal with the fact that I killed one of those guards, let alone that all these people that matter to me are lost. How can I keep going?”

“With help,” Zuko said, his voice soft in Sokka’s ear, “That’s the only way we can do anything.”

***

“I bet it was nice to see your Uncle again,” Sokka said as Zuko sat beside him. It was strange to be back in Ba Sing Se with Zuko. It had only been a few months, but it seemed like so much time had passed since the last time they were here.

“Yeah. I was nervous at first. I thought he’d still be upset with me for betraying him. I kind of always thought that was why he left when we broke him out. But he wasn’t. He was proud of me.”

“He should be,” Sokka answered, resting his head on Zuko’s shoulder, “You helped with two very successful prison breaks, you saved us from your sister and combustion man, even if he was your fault in the first place, you taught Aang how to firebend, you somehow managed to convince the hottest guy in the group to be your boyfriend. You’ve got a lot to be proud of.”

“Wait, when was Haru my boyfriend?” Zuko teased. Sokka retaliated with a firm nudge to Zuko’s side. He laughed. “I’m kidding. I’ve thought you were absolutely stunning since I saw you at Master Piandao’s.”

“That long?” Sokka asked.

“Mmhm,” Zuko answered, “I hadn’t really looked at you before that. I was kind of surprised when I realized how attractive you were.”

“Surprised?” Sokka asked.

“Well I don’t normally find my enemies attractive.”

“I guess that’s fair.”

The couple sat, watching the flames dance for a little while. Sokka liked resting his head on Zuko, placing his hand on his chest to feel the heartbeat underneath. He liked when Zuko’s breath would glide against his forehead, or when Zuko’s arm would wrap tighter around him, trying to diminish any thought of space between them.

“I know you’re worried about Aang,” Zuko said as the flames began to dim into coals, “And about tomorrow. We all are. You’re not alone in that.”

“I know,” Sokka said quietly.

“And you should know that I’ll be fighting like hell to see you again, but if anything does happen to me, it’s not your fault.”

“Zuko...”

“I’m serious Sokka,” Zuko continued, “You’re allowed to be sad and you’re allowed to miss me, but if you even think of blaming yourself or hiding away from your friends, just know that I’ll never forgive you.”

“Yes you will,” Sokka said, nuzzling in closer.

“Ok, you’re right, but still. I don’t want you blaming yourself or isolating your emotions again.”

“I won’t,” Sokka said, “Or I’ll try not to. You’re still the only person that I feel totally comfortable talking about these things with.”

“I know,” Zuko said, combing his fingers through Sokka’s hair, “But you have to try.”

“I know, I know. One step at a time.”

“And it goes without saying, but I don’t want to mourn you either, so please don’t die.”

“Me? Die?” Sokka said with a laugh, “Impossible. You know the Universe loves messing with me too much to let me die.”

“Sokka...”

“Relax Zuko, I’m joking,” Sokka said, “I like being here. I like being with you, and Katara, and Suki, and my dad, and Toph, and Aang, and Kana—“

“Ok, ok, I believe you,” Zuko said, placing a kiss to Sokka’s forehead, “Now c’mon, we should get some rest.”

The two walked hand in hand back to their tent, the remaining light from the fire still scattering tiny sparkling embers in their wake. Tomorrow, they decided, would be a good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly when I first got the idea for this fic it was going to be completely different and almost entirely Zuko focused, but somehow Sokka stole the show, and I’m glad he did. I really wanted them to be a relationship where the sides of themselves that they try to hide are naturally brought out with each other. Sokka gets to (has to?) show his emotions that he normally keeps away when he’s with Zuko, and Zuko learns how to be good by trying to illuminate the goodness in Sokka. ANYWAY. I’m sorry there’s not more kissing. I wanted there to be more but I didn’t want to force it too much either. Hope you liked it anyway!!


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